New Englanders, maybe you belong to a NCSF Coalition Partner group like NELA or NE-DS or Mob New England or you are an individual supporting member of NCSF. Maybe you've attended an event that donated to NCSF, like one of the Fetish Fair Fleamarkets or the recent Feet First NCSF Fundraiser at the Cyclorama in Boston. Maybe you've been wondering what NCSF is and how you can learn more and get involved with the good work they do. Well, pull out your calendars and mark them in INK, because the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is holding its 2011 annual meeting in Boston on March 25th - 26th! Roll out the red carpet, Boston -- after you shovel that snow! -- to welcome NCSF to town!

I've been NELA and Mob's CP rep for several years now, working with these groups to spread the word about NCSF's media updates, incident response program, and special projects like Consent Counts and the Kink-Aware Professionals list. I've attended the annual meetings, networking and brainstorming with my fellow CP reps and the NCSF board and staff members. We read minutes (hot!), we have break-out sessions, we vote! I come away from these weekend-long meetings re-energized and inspired by my fellow activists who work so hard to defend the rights of kinky, swing, and poly consenting adults.

Coalition Partner representatives will be meeting on that last Saturday and Sunday in March 2011 to discuss how NCSF has progressed so far and to plan for NCSF's next year. There will be an opportunity for members of the community to meet with the CP reps and attend [is anything planned, like a Consent Counts presentation or Susan talking about media training?]. Shove on your boots and grab a scarf and come mix and mingle with the folks who are working hard with you and for you to advance your rights to engage in alternative sexual and relationship expressions as consenting adults.

And CP reps from all over the country, on behalf of Boston and all of New England's NCSF supporters and cheerleaders, I hope to see a TON of you out here in March. We are working to find you a great hotel and we are getting party planning underway. If your travels allow before or after the meeting, you can bop around the Boston Common, check out the Charles River, and feast at Faneuil Hall. It should be a fun and interesting hop from Freedom Trail to Sexual Freedom in Boston in 2011!

AASECTBy: Jim Fleckenstein & Susan Wright

NCSF Board

NCSF and the NCSF Foundation represented our constituents at the recent 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) in Pittsburgh. AASECT is the recognized certifying organization for professionals in the sexuality helping professions. Both the group itself and its membership constitute a very influential voice in the public discourse about sexuality and relationships.

NCSF's presence there has been ongoing for a number of years, and generally very well received. NCSF Board members Susan Wright and Jim Fleckenstein staffed a table in the exhibit hall and participated in a variety of workshops and networking activities. One central focus of NCSF's presence in Pittsburgh was to continue to garner support for our DSM Revision Project. This project seeks to encourage the American Psychiatric Association to adhere to sound science as it goes through the process of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) between now and 2012. For more information about this project, go to DSM Revision Project on our site, www.ncsfreedom.org.

Another important point of conversation between the NCSF representatives and the AASECT members present was introducing the new NCSF brochure, "What Psychology Professionals Should Know About Polyamory." This brochure helps explain the real issues faced by polyamorous individuals and helps de-stigmatize this lifestyle choice by presenting positive, scientific evidence in a concise and professional manner. The AASECT members who stopped by the NCSF table made a number of favorable comments on the brochure.

"We continue to be pleased by the positive reception we get at AASECT," said Susan Wright, who also serves on AASECT's Advocacy Committee. "It's really important for us to meet face to face with those who can help us keep our constituents in the BDSM, swing and polyamory communities from being pathologized by the very people they turn to for help."

"Being visible and accessible at AASECT helps establish our credibility as an organization and as a resource to these sexuality professionals," added Jim Fleckenstein, who has given formal presentations on alternative sexuality at four AASECT conferences. "They listen to what we say, join our Kink Aware Professionals program, and learn a lot about our constituents - we help them understand that poly, swinging, and kinky folks are just ordinary people who have made lifestyle choices that work for them."

NCSF & FetLifeAn interview with John Baku, founder of FetLife

By: Julian Wolf

John Baku is the founder of the international online phenomenon FetLife. He graciously took the time to be interviewed.

What type of relationship does FetLife have with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom?

I have to start off by saying FetLife, and the whole FetLife team, are huge fans of the NCSF and all they do for the kinky community.

Now, to answer your question, I think the best way to describe our relationship is that we act as one of the bridges between the NSCF and the kinky community.

We do this in two ways. We do this by giving the NCSF visibility on FetLife to over 550,000 kinksters (growing by 1,100 a day). We give the NCSF visibility by donating a guaranteed two million ad impressions a month plus a percentage of our remnant stock which results in approximately ten million add impressions per month. Plus the NCSF is listed in the "Organization We Support" page.

There other way we act as a bridge is by connecting people who need help, when they need help, with the NCSF. When our volunteer support staff comes across a case that the NCSF is better suited to help, then we inform the person of the services the NCSF offers and we ask them if we can put them in touch with you.

NCSF Comes to You TubeBy: Vivienne Kramer

NCSF Board

NCSF has started a video campaign project! Kink Academy is generously donated it's production company and a Boston based Committee is working on three public relation pieces: a video for our own communities to help spread the good word of NCSF, a piece for vanilla but open minded individuals and a third version for the general public.

Look out You Tube... NCSF is coming!

phone: 410-539-4824

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About Incident Reporting & Response

The NCSF Incident Reporting & Response (IRR) program provides assistance to individuals and groups within the alternative sexual expression communities who become victimized because of SM, leather, fetish, or swing practices.

Program Goals: NCSF's Incident Reporting & Response was created to provide assistance to individuals and groups within the BDSM, swinging and poly communities who are experiencing discrimination or needs assistance because of their interests and activities.